The present invention relates to web feeding and handling apparatus and to such apparatus which is specifically adapted for use with a printer.
The principal objective is to provide apparatus which is easy to use and provides rugged, reliable web feeding.
The web feeding apparatus of the present invention has been designed for use with a printer within an environment having several severe constraints. The system requirements include the provision of a reliable printer capable of simultaneously producing an original and a copy of the printed document. The printer is accessible only through a single access opening provided at the forward end of a housing containing the printer and web feeding apparatus. Printed documentation is produced upon a two-ply web fed from a supply roll. The original document is dispensed through an opening in the housing after having been automatically cut from the main web, a copy being retained upon a web take-up spool. Since it is imperative that a record be made of every transaction, means must be provided to assure that a fresh supply roll is provided before the present supply roll is depleted.
It is important to provide a web handling system which does not require a high level of skill to service.
It is further important to permit the system to accommodate supply rolls within a suitable tolerance range of size and core diameter thus enabling the use of supply rolls derived from different manufacturers and/or sources.
It is also important that the system be rugged and as trouble-free as is practical and that the system provide feed paths and web feeding means which assure proper feeding and handling of the web without skewing.
The inventors are aware of no system which meets all of the above constraints and requirements.